I'm in the process of dropping my trans, 400 miles later after a clutch job... it makes a whirr clutched out like normal, but a godawful rattle when clutched in, following an evening of nearly impossible to get in gear

i'm 99% sure it's the pilot bearing and i prolly mashed it during reinstallation and it fully disintergrated 400 miles later, what tips/tricks can you guys give me to get the trans back on the engine without destroying the next one?

thanks

 

use an alignment tool

 

i think he means when you are bolting the tranny back to the engine the input shaft ends up destroying the pilot bearing, not bolting up the clutch to the flywheel. I ended up buying some long bolts that had the same pitch and size as the tranny bolts to slowly guide the tranny so that the input shaft doesn't damage the pilot bearing.

 

http://rx7.com/store/rx7/fddrivetrain_clutch.html

Check this out... you can rent the removal tool. Also, ask them for the alignment tool.

 

I agree Hobbez his question is a matter of how.

I think I created the exact same problem with my tranny reinstallation - and later I learned how critical this step is. My tranny makes similar sounds when it's cold - I have a new pilot bushing and bearing ready to go in whenever I feel up to the job again. One tip I saw mentioned is to get the engine tilted (lift the front) so that the tranny ramps up to fit into the pilot. Normally the engine likes to tilt forward and that makes the process harder. Another thing I read is to make sure the alignment tool is used to align it REALLY accurately.

I think the longer housing bolts will make a big difference as well - I struggled getting it started, however I think it should be noted that using bolts to get it in place makes it possible to force it into place. Definitely keep track of the torque you feel in the bolts as you bring the housings together and work around it to keep the mating faces parallel.

I sure hope your input shaft surface is still good - I would positively vomit if I needed to buy a new one, and I think then there is the question of buying new mating gears.

Dave

 

i only drove it a few miles after it occured, i doubt that little pansy bearing could destroy the splines on the shaft, but we'll see :/

 

I explained the situation to Exedy and that I can't confirm i'm not the one to blame, they're sending me a replacement pilot bearing which i'll recieve tommorow morning, couldn't ask for better service....

 

An easy way to avoid this problem is to install the clutch and pressure plate in the tranny. This way, you don't have to worry about aligning the clutch. It will "self align" when you attach the tranny to the engine. Then you bolt the pressure plate to the flywheel thru the inspection port on the lower right.

 

i've considered doing it that way, however ,won't it be a huge pain to get the PP on the flywheel pegs?

 

Yeah it would, hehe I tried that twice, but decided to do the service manual way.. However, it is possible I believe to align the pegs up first and do not rotate the clutch too much when reinserting the tranny back up to the motor. Than it would be possible align the pegs and bolts it up to the flywheel better if you do not have to but shift a little to align it up right. Than you have to make sure you torque the bolts like it needs to. Not much room to work with at the inspection plate area.

 

just must be my dumb luck this occured, oh well :/

 

i did mine the way what's his face said above, aligning pressure plate/clutch plate to the tranni first then put the engine together. Worked like a charm and didn't really take me any longer than it would of using an alignment tool but this way i know things are on there correctly.

T.c.

 

It is easy to align everything, and tighten the bolts thru the inspection plate. It just takes a little longer to bolt up the pressure plate this way.

 

bolt the tranny to the engine outside the car, then drop in. (assuming you pull the engine, but you probably wont just to replace the bearing)

anyways i did it that way and mines smooth as butter 4000 miles later

 

You may have a "hung clutch". When bolting up the trans you did not put it in perfectly straight causing stress on your clutch disk eventually bending it.

 

yep pilot is toasted, picked out pieces for a minute, yippy

 

I think that would be too obvious to make a mistake. I mean the clutch should go on one way and that is flush against the flywheels

 

Probably the best way is to work out several days out of the week till you become strong enough to bear hug it into the tranny.

Actually, I lifted the tranny up as far as it could possibly go so that it would be tilted up. Than grabbed the engine with the hoist and chain so it was tilted down and once the pilot hole was aligned to the shaft, I slowly pushed the engine in by hand. Everything else was easy to align. There was enough room in the access cover to turn the clutch and align it with the dowel pins. Once all the dowel pins were aligned I tightened the bolts of the clutch.

 

I just used a jack stand to lift the tranny then guided it in place and it went in a smoooth as butter.
I guess I got lucky, no problems either.